Congo-Kinshasa: DR Congo - New Centre Opens At Heart of Record Ebola Outbreak

What the report says

UN agencies and health partners have opened new Ebola response centres in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as the country faces its largest recorded outbreak of the disease, according to UN News as republished by AllAfrica. The facilities are meant to improve triage, treatment and referrals in hard-hit areas, including near Bunia in Ituri province, where response teams are working in and around displacement camps.

The article said confirmed cases continued to rise sharply, with World Health Organization updates showing 3,605 confirmed cases and 1,587 deaths as of 30 July. Ituri remains the most affected province, and the outbreak has spread to additional provinces and health zones over the past two months. WHO also reported the highest weekly totals so far in the most recent complete reporting week, underscoring the pace of transmission.

A major new treatment centre with 100 beds is scheduled to open this week, alongside an Ebola transit centre at the Kigonze displacement camp on the outskirts of Bunia. WHO and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said response efforts need to expand further because insecurity, population displacement and cross-border movement are making containment harder. The article also noted that local teams are seeing effects on pregnant patients, including stillbirths and premature deliveries.

More broadly, the new centres reflect an effort by UN agencies and Congolese health authorities to scale up care in zones where conflict, hunger and displacement are overlapping with the outbreak.